If we think of Buddhist, our mind will rush within a split second to Lord Buddha who gave to his followers the ‘Panchala’ and ‘Eight-fold path’, and if a Christian, we will look to Lord Jesus who gave the ‘Ten Commandments’. Similarly, when one thinks of Yoga, one is taken many thousands of years back to the peaks of the Himalayas and the forests where the great Rishis or ‘seers’ first practised this eternal science before spreading its message to benefit the whole of humanity.
Dr. Swami Gitananda Ji of Pondicherry writes in his editorial to Yoga Life (November 1992) that millennia ago, the original Vedic Sapta (seven) Rishis met at Prayag for the first ever Yoga ‘Sammellan’. After a long and fiery debate they agreed to disagree on the meaning of Yoga and the means to attain that universal ‘Oneness’. Swami Ji continues further to say that “Vedic Yoga was built up on the concept of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram – Truth, Goodness and Beauty. Adherence to these three vital concepts has assured ‘purity in yoga’ FOR MILLENNIA”. The most important aspect of Rishis was that their researches were conducted in order to save humanity from demonism and lead it to divinity. Or, as Isha Vasya Upanishad declares, “Lead us from falsehood to truth, darkness to light and from mortality or bondage to immortality, salvation and liberation.” Although there was no conventional religion as we see it today, their research was unbiased and they imparted their teachings to deserving students regardless of cast, creed or colour. Until this very day, many aspects of Yoga are to be found, in one way or another, in every religion/faith.
It takes many thousands of years to produce these Rishis or Seers. They had the highest character, untouched by the blemishes of our world in which we are living today. They had mastered the five deadly enemies of the human being i.e. Kama (lust/passion), Krodha (anger), Lobha (greed),Moha (attachment), and Ahankara (ego). They had uncovered the five sheaths of a human being. i.e. Annamaya Kosha (physical), Pranamaya Kosh (vital) Manomaya Kosha (mental) Vijyanamaya Kosha (wisdom) and Anandamaya Kosha (bliss)in order to reach the highest peak of Bliss. If anyone of us had watched the episodes of Mahabharata shown by the BBC and understood the language of the Rishis, we would have realised that passion could not touch them nor did they know about anger. Sweet words like flowers giving sweet perfumes flowed from their lips. Greed was far from their minds and they remained detached from the world in which they were living. Ego was unthinkable for them as they paid full respect to every human being according to his/her status in the society. What we see today is that these enemies (passion, anger, attachment and ego) are dominating everywhere in a gross or subtle form. We cannot afford but to look upon those great Rishis for guidance and, in order to follow the path of Yoga, we have to follow their footsteps. They were the saviours of humanity and spread the eternal Truth without any prejudice.
WHAT IS YOGA
Yoga is said to be an art which helps a human being to live in the society of which s/he is a member. It is also a science through which s/he can reach the highest goal of life, i.e. self-realisation. James Hewitt writes in his book “Yoga” that Yoga is both a practice and a goal. He quotes from a French scholar, Professor Masson-Ourel who says that Yoga is the permanent basis of Indian culture.
The science of Yoga deals with a human being as a whole, and does not stop at the physical level. Unfortunately we in the West as well as in the East are concentrating more on the physical body which is a very minute part of the whole. We run competitions and laboratory experiments on how the body reacts to various postures, but do not go beyond this gross, physical level. In fact, this is only the first stage on the path of Yoga and if we do not rise above it, we will never make any progress. Yoga helps, as it is said, to awaken all inherent powers in a human being, to make her/him understand her/his real nature and reach the goal of self realisation. The great Masters of Yoga have told us that if we want to understand ourselves we have to know about the Five Sheaths mentioned above and need to uncover these in order to be able to embrace Bliss as the Rishis did in their own time.
If Yoga is a practical way of living, how can we deal with all these aspects in our daily life? This is the subject of our discussion in the following paragraphs.
Annamaya Kosha: Physical Sheath
It is said that the goal of self-realisation can only be achieved in our human life, and Yoga is the perfect method to attain this goal. Sri Swami Sivananda Ji of Rishikesh writes in his book “Health and Happiness”, that the scriptures declare that this body is a boat to cross this ocean of Samsar (world), an instrument for doing various deeds and attaining Moksha (liberation, salvation). He further quotes from Charka Samhita, “Dharamarthakama mokshanam arogyam moolmuttam, Rogastayaapahartarah Sreyaso jivitaya cha” i.e. Health is the best canoe of virtue, wealth, enjoyment and emancipation and is the blessedness of life. Diseases are the destroyers of health.”
The “Hatha Yoga Pradipika” and the “Gheranda Samhita” which deal with the body, lay emphasis on the purity of the body in order to purify the vital force (Prana) and the mind. Swami Svatmarama and Rishi Gherand, authors of the above books, both give various yogic methods for the cleansing of the physical body, to be followed by students and teachers (Gurus) alike. Ironically, we are apt to deliver lectures, write books and give advice to others on how to maintain good health but fall short of it when it is applied to ourselves. It is often seen that the Masters neglect their own practices and become prey of various diseases. The most common is obesity. Dr. Per Bjontorp of the University of Sweden said in May 1989 at the American Heart Association, Washington, that “A big tummy is as bad for the heart as smoking. It increases the risk 5 to 10 times of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and pre-mature death”. No wonder we see various people in Yoga (in particular Masters) suffering from heart disease and other illnesses. If we all follow the daily routine of cleansing (which only needs a few minutes of our attention) as laid down in the Yoga scriptures, we can certainly keep ourselves free from a number of diseases.
Yoga, as described by the great Masters of yore, is more of a protective practice than a curative one. If the foundations of a follower of Yoga (whether novice or Guru) are not firmly laid, s/he cannot expect to enjoy good health and progress on this razor-edged path. It is no good to find excuses. If we don’t follow the proper instructions given by the scriptures, we shall be caught by various diseases. Sri Swami Sivananda Ji says that approximately 30% of people suffer because of their past karmas but the rest of us violate the laws of nature and suffer the consequences.
Yoga is a way of life and experience tells us that the discipline of cleansing the body can easily be incorporated into one’s daily routine. Any book on Hatha Yoga will tell us that we must first cleanse the body and then move onto the next stage. However, it is sometimes observed that a number of aspirants are very regular in their cleansing process but still fall prey to some illnesses. This we can call psychosomatic. Very often these people have mental disturbances at that particular time which disturb the efficient functioning of their body and hence it is important for them to primarily watch, their mind more than the body. The mind is the more powerful.
Once the physical health of an aspirant is maintained and the impurities of the body are kept away, the second step becomes easier, i.e. improving the vital force or ‘prana’ in order to uncover the second sheath.
Pranamaya Kosha : Vital Force
This is the second sheath or covering in the evolvement of a human being. It is much higher and subtler then the physical. Breath, as Sri Swami Sivananda Ji describes it, is the external manifestation of Prana. In reality, it is pervading everywhere in the universe. Sri Swami Vivekananda Ji, writing on Prana, says that ‘According to the philosophers of India, the whole inverse is composed of two materials one of which they call Akasha (space or ether). It is omnipresent, all penetrating existence. Just as Akasha is the infinite, omnipresent material of this universe so is the Prana, the infinite, omnipresent manifesting power of this universe. Pranayama is the expansion of Pranaand breathing is only one of the many exercises through which we get to the real Pranayama’. (Complete Work, Vol. I, Ch. III).
The ”Hatha Yoga Pradipika” and the “Gheranda Samhita” describe a number of practices of Pranayama aimed to purify the 72,000 Nadis (subtle nerve channels) which are the conveyors of the life current in the body. Hans-Ulrich Rieker, in his book, “Yoga of Light” , says that man lives only as long as he has breath in his body. If he lacks breath (Prana) he dies. He also points out in his commentary that man cannot be kept alive by attaching him to an oxygen tank. It is not just the oxygen that matters. The decisive element, the life stream, is Prana (Pt.II.Ch.5).
Our life is dependent on Prana and its span can be, as it was by the Yogis of yore, increased through Pranayama (control of breath or vital force) or shortened by wasting the Prana through ignorance and negligence.
It is pity that no proper attention is paid in most of the Yoga classes even to the basic and elementary principles of Pranayama. In some circles, the practice of pranayama is forbidden to the students even though one cannot live without breathing for more than a few seconds.
Swami Shivananda Ji of Assam, Gauhati, India writes in his book “Yogic Therapy” that Asanas and Mudras practised without pranayama (control of the breath) are as worthless a show as the large sacrificial celebration performed by king Daksha without Shiva, as described in ‘Puranas’ (Shiva being the main deity of the celebration). He continues by saying that the theory on respiration of modern science upholds the fact that no disease can be perfectly cured without pranayama which alone can free the body from the poisonous carbon dioxide.
Hence it is vitally important in order to uncover the third sheath, that one should have a good knowledge of the science of Pranayama and practise it regularly in one’s daily life. One cannot reach the mind without uncovering the first two sheaths i.e. purifying the body through the Shat Karmas and the Nadis by means of Pranayama. These exercises can easily form a part of one’s daily routine after one has concluded the physical exercises in the morning. They can also be practised in the evening. There are always initial difficulties in any discipline, but nothing is impossible to achieve in this world.
Manomaya Kosha: Mental Sheath
It is said that the mind is the cause of bondage as well as of liberation. Swami Sivananda Ji writes in his book “Practice of Yoga” that a Hatha Yogi starts his or her Sadhana (spiritual practice) with his body and Prana while a Raja Yogi starts with his mind. Also, he writes that no one can become a perfect yogi without knowledge of and the practice of both Hatha and Raja Yoga.
Mind is a bundle of thoughts (‘sankalpas’ or thought currents). Patanjali Maharishi summed up his philosophy of Raja Yoga in the second aphorism of his book ‘Yoga Sutras’ when he says “Yogash chitta vritti nirodha”; Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind. Yoga practices help us to control our vrittis or thought waves.
We all know that the body and the mind react with each other. Most diseases of our time are considered to be psychosomatic, however if the body is suffering from any kind of illness or disease as a result of ignoring the laws of nature, the mind will react in its turn and suffer also, All practices of Yoga, as has been said above, start with the cleansing of the body in order to prevent any subsequent reaction on the mind.
Food also plays an important part in the building up our mind. The scriptures tell us that the gross part of our food is eliminated as waste (excrement), its medium part makes our flesh and the finest part goes to make our mind. Chandogya Upanishad (VII,xxvi-2) says that when nourishment is pure, nature is pure; when nature is pure, memory becomes firm. When memory remains firm, there is release from all knots of the heart.
We all know as a student how Arjuna expressed to Lord Krishna his inability to master the mind which is restless, turbulent, strong, and obstinate and as hard to control as the wind. But the Lord, in His reply, tells him “Though it is restless and hard to control yet it can be controlled by practice and non-attachment” (B.G.VI,34,35). Here, we must remember that our practice must be regular and disciplined if we wish to see any results. If, on the other hand, our practice is carried out in fits and breaks, it will not be of much avail. If our body is regularly cleansed and the sattvic food is partaken according to the principles of Yoga, we will attract pure thoughts and reach our mind easily.
Purity of mind depends upon the purity of thoughts. Swami Sivananda Ji says in his book “Mind, its Mysteries and Control” that undesirable thoughts can be controlled by auto-suggestion, or can be checked by ethics and morals, also by controlling the body and speech. He goes on to say that one should not be discouraged by failure. Habits can certainly be changed by adopting a positive attitude.
The next sheath is the Vijyanamaya Kosha which cuts asunder the veil of ignorance.
Vijyanamaya Kosha: Sheath of Wisdom
The sages of yore warned us time and again that the cause of our bondage is the veil of ignorance. Until we can remove it, we will keep returning to this ‘samsara’ (world of forms and illusion) and fall into the trap of the ‘six-spoked wheel of pairs’ i.e. Raga and Dvesha (love and hatred), virtue and vice (good and evil) and pain and pleasure. The only weapon to destroy this illusion is wisdom. This can be achieved by sitting at the feet of a true Master, by studying the scriptures, and by exercising the power of discrimination between what is untruth and truth.
Unless one has true knowledge according to the scriptures, one remains under the influence of ignorance and does not make any progress on the path of self-realisation in order to embrace Bliss. Although it is hard to achieve, Lord Krishna, as said above, tells us that even the most difficult goals can be attained by constant practice and proper discipline in one’s life.
Anandamaya Kosha: Sheath of Bliss
Once the control has been achieved, the last sheath of Bliss can be achieved without much effort. All the ground work has now been carried out with complete vigilance and the whole being is then surrounded by Bliss. One who has reached this stage, is surrounded by Divine Bliss all the time.
However, one must remember that in order to unveil this last sheath one has to bring complete harmony in all the above four aspects of one’s being. The physical body has to be kept healthier through sattvic food taken in moderation at regular intervals and properly digested with the help of Yogasanas and other practices which allow the complete elimination of waste matter and strengthening of the mind. This will then affect the second stage i.e. vital force or ‘Prana’ and help to keep the nervous system cleansed of impurities which will then attract pure thoughts. This will lead us to right knowledge and help remove the fourth and final veil, in order to reach Anandamaya Kosha.
Hence we can see that one cannot emphasize and work on any one particular aspect of a human being in isolation from the rest. Each aspect has to be worked on day in and day out. It is NOT a question of practising one day and then leaving it until another opportunity arises to practise. This will not help to any Yoga aspirant to reach one’s goal. Yoga is a practical way of living and should become a part of our everyday life. As a saying goes “Sow a thought; reap a desire, sow a desire; reap an action, sow an action; reap a habit and sow a habit; reap a destiny.”
We suffer because we, as a student, teacher or Guru, abandon our practice and change our way of life. Let us therefore start/return to the right action in order to build up a right habit and its subsequent destiny. In this way there will be no remorse in our life.
MAY THE LORD HELP US TO ACHIEVE OUR GOAL
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om